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Imagine reading a secret recipe: 3c+2s−53c + 2s - 5 tells a baker to take 3 cups of flour, add 2 spoons of sugar, and remove 5 grams of salt.
Algebra works like a recipe code where every symbol has a distinct job.
What makes up each piece of this mathematical code?

Parts of an Expression

A variable is a letter that stands in for an unknown or changing number, like xx or yy.
A constant is a fixed number with no variable attached whose value never changes, like 77 or −4-4.
A term is a single number, a single variable, or numbers and variables multiplied together, separated from other terms by addition or subtraction signs.
A coefficient is the numerical factor multiplying a variable in a term, such as the 55 in 5x5x.
How do you split up an expression when there are plus and minus signs everywhere?

Splitting Terms and Keeping Signs

The plus or minus sign directly in front of a number or letter always belongs to that term.